tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6451992918965531391..comments2015-08-02T18:16:04.706-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: English novelist Bawden / FRI 4-1-11 / Serving in John Betjeman's poem / 2002 Katherine Frank political biography / Hammer accompanierRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71350747671039025092011-05-07T18:15:26.144-04:002011-05-07T18:15:26.144-04:00A day (plus 5 weeks) late to the party - Rex said ...A day (plus 5 weeks) late to the party - Rex said it could take anywhere from a minute to infinity to pick up the reversal trick. It took me about a day to finally see OCAT and all of a sudden all of my wrong &quot;down&quot; answers were right &quot;up&quot; answers. I may not be good but I&#39;m persistent. Must remember to check the puzzle number to see if the original publication has any significance that may show up in the puzzle.Dirigonzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50804228052964692442011-05-07T16:29:28.539-04:002011-05-07T16:29:28.539-04:00I could have written your intro because its exactl...I could have written your intro because its exactly my thoughts while solving. I looked,as always at the date of puzzle and knew since it was a April 1st one there HAD to be something kinky in this somewhere. Knew Leona and Indira then once I looked up that poem and thought scones figured it out. Very skilled creation-good puzzle.novemberyankee68http://www.blogger.com/profile/14141803613714391218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30415334621229884402011-05-07T14:56:23.717-04:002011-05-07T14:56:23.717-04:00@Fritz
EERGA I@Fritz<br />EERGA IGil.I.Pollashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57892732009288675612011-05-07T10:01:01.721-04:002011-05-07T10:01:01.721-04:00I had to cheat to finish this puzzle. First I loo...I had to cheat to finish this puzzle. First I looked up the obscure writers and some other stuff. But nothing seemed to fit. INDIRA didn&#39;t cross with NINA, etc. So I finally accessed your blog. I wish I had been more patient so I could figure out the trick. It seems unfair to me that one couldn&#39;t get the answer &quot;NORTHBOUND LANES&quot; until after figuring out the trick. I needed that answer to figure out the trick.<br /><br />I did this puzzle in the Minneapolis paper, so it was not on April Fool&#39;s Day. I guess it was easier for people doing it in the Times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72802538368670976932011-05-07T03:24:07.438-04:002011-05-07T03:24:07.438-04:00Syndicated
UOY KCUFSyndicated<br /><br />UOY KCUFfritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061725013331754160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35517492362305273582011-05-06T20:11:40.248-04:002011-05-06T20:11:40.248-04:00syndicated here too
how you can rate this piece o...syndicated here too<br /><br />how you can rate this piece of garbage easy is beyound me<br /><br />totally disgusted<br /><br />Normand HouleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66918929614017940372011-05-06T19:37:09.690-04:002011-05-06T19:37:09.690-04:00Couldn&#39;t agree more, CYNTHIA and Anon from Syn...Couldn&#39;t agree more, CYNTHIA and Anon from Syndication Land. So I won&#39;t comment on the eastern half of what is apparently a May Fool&#39;s Day puzzle for us.<br /><br />When I was a programmer many years back, GOTO signified an unconditional branch in program logic or &quot;Get out of here! Fast!&quot;. So I&#39;m sticking with GOTO and TONG as a perfectly acceptable couplet up in the Washington State region.Waxy in Montrealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34586939195862141582011-05-06T16:15:27.352-04:002011-05-06T16:15:27.352-04:00I&#39;m with you, Anonymous. On May 6, and a Frida...I&#39;m with you, Anonymous. On May 6, and a Friday, who&#39;s going to suspect a theme? Couldn&#39;t figure out why I was so successful on the west, so dismal on the east!CYNTHIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09512772458773106945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26662046221889938272011-05-06T15:51:20.150-04:002011-05-06T15:51:20.150-04:00From Syndication Land
Today is May 6th. If you t...From Syndication Land<br /><br />Today is May 6th. If you think the theme was hard to get on April 1st, you can imagine how few syndicated solvers got the theme quickly...or at all. When Nina and Leonas wouldn&#39;t cross, I knew something was up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50692083157153397692011-04-18T11:22:26.947-04:002011-04-18T11:22:26.947-04:00Elegant touch: REVERSALS over three lines in north...Elegant touch: REVERSALS over three lines in northeast.geophanynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11411125859000723152011-04-02T12:23:00.720-04:002011-04-02T12:23:00.720-04:00Had _CAT when it struck me.Had _CAT when it struck me.Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17061491158278453862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47179071342215513322011-04-02T00:18:58.816-04:002011-04-02T00:18:58.816-04:00Just one look at my paper tells the story: eraser ...Just one look at my paper tells the story: eraser marks all over the right. So many gimmes and nothing fit... Finally kudos/huck gave it away, and then it took no time at all to finish the East.<br /><br />Other than the trick, Go, go! is my favorite answer. It&#39;s what I would say.machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14768319215892473662011-04-01T23:15:53.603-04:002011-04-01T23:15:53.603-04:00Impossible - just couldn&#39;t get this. Had set m...Impossible - just couldn&#39;t get this. Had set me back no end on my NYT puzzle journey. <br />The only thing I liked about this was the reference to the great Sir John Betjamin (see link below)<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETAQJFaTn64&amp;feature=youtube_gdata_playerBeantownDannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22955185921342350212011-04-01T22:05:58.438-04:002011-04-01T22:05:58.438-04:00This week&#39;s relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week&#39;s relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio, the higher this week&#39;s median solve time is relative to the average for the corresponding day of the week.<br /><br />All solvers (this week&#39;s median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 6:58, 6:55, 1.01, 58%, Medium<br />Tue 9:36, 8:56, 1.08, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 11:47, 11:45, 1.00, 57%, Medium<br />Thu 14:05, 19:06, 0.74, 10%, Easy<br />Fri 36:09, 26:23, 1.37, 99%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:42, 3:41, 1.00, 53%, Medium<br />Tue 5:13, 4:35, 1.14, 88%, Challenging<br />Wed 5:17, 5:47, 0.91, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 6:47, 9:12, 0.73, 7%, Easy<br />Fri 20:11, 13:00, 1.55, 99%, Challenging<br /><br />As I anticipated, today&#39;s puzzle finished with the second highest median solve time for both groups of online solvers. Only Robin Schulman &amp; Byron Walden&#39;s 6/25/2010 puzzle outdid this one (albeit by a comfortable margin). It did wind up with the fewest number of online solvers (298).sanfranman59http://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52976882804657227722011-04-01T21:13:58.858-04:002011-04-01T21:13:58.858-04:00I hated this puzzle. I don&#39;t see any hint, ei...I hated this puzzle. I don&#39;t see any hint, either in the clues or inherent in April Fool&#39;s Day, towards running half the &quot;down&quot; answers the opposite way. Oh, the &quot;hint&quot; is supposed to be that I can&#39;t get any of the east side? Well, of course I should have tried reversing things.<br /><br />Please.<br /><br />And having &quot;middle of the road&quot; read straight DOWN as the &quot;divider&quot; is neither helpful nor entirely consistent with the theme.<br /><br />Maybe there aren&#39;t any formal rules for themes and twists and tricks in the NYTimes puzzle, but this one still felt like a violation.John Autinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56575546291463506492011-04-01T21:08:08.932-04:002011-04-01T21:08:08.932-04:00Ugh. Impossible for me. I just could not crack the...Ugh. Impossible for me. I just could not crack the code. The whole thing was frustrating and not fun. It was one of those puzzles that I realize I&#39;m undone by, put aside, and wrote &quot;Rex Parker&quot; into Google.Sarahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82498634639202220292011-04-01T20:55:33.360-04:002011-04-01T20:55:33.360-04:00Worst DNF for me in over a decade of doing the dai...Worst DNF for me in over a decade of doing the daily puzzle. As you can imagine, most of the right half is blank. What hurts is that HAD I caught the trick, I would have finished very fast. Perhaps had I gotten &quot;rescue&quot; or &quot;Canals&quot; ( I had &quot;averse&quot; right away) I would have seen that &quot;car&quot; was going up, and from there, clear sailing. <br /><br />Sigh....OISKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31029888024023380212011-04-01T20:49:17.784-04:002011-04-01T20:49:17.784-04:00Forgot it was April Fool&#39;s and never got the g...Forgot it was April Fool&#39;s and never got the gimmick. Wondered why I did so terribly on a Friday and why one half of the puzzle was completely filled and the other half almost empty...michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74634197242996440112011-04-01T20:22:19.549-04:002011-04-01T20:22:19.549-04:00Anybody watch that Pretenders clip, what is the dr...Anybody watch that Pretenders clip, what is the drummer doing at 0:59-1:01????<br />Also, in the Family Guy/Maude bit, they mention Indira Gandhi. Coincidence or not ...<br />Speaking of the NY Times, good article on captchas in Tues. Science section.<br />Have a great weekend.big Steve SFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12798194741162701172011-04-01T20:04:47.981-04:002011-04-01T20:04:47.981-04:00Between this and the LAT all I can think of is whe...Between this and the LAT all I can think of is when we used to have backwards day in elementary school. Wanted something a little more edgy for April 1. Two backwards/upside down puzzles in one day is one (or two) too many. Will be glad to return to normalcy.<br /><br />Agree that NUBIlE clued as such was inappropriate.CrazyCatLadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24724175370719960522011-04-01T18:33:29.212-04:002011-04-01T18:33:29.212-04:00Had an advantage in getting it because my favorite...Had an advantage in getting it because my favorite puzzle of A Long Time Ago had the same gimmick, except that it was &quot;THE BRONX IS UP&quot; going from bottom to top and &quot;THE BATTERY&#39;S DOWN&quot; going from top to bottom. As a New Yorker and a fan of &quot;On the Town&quot; (Bernstein, Comden, and Green), I was exceedingly tickled by that one, never forgot it, and was always looking for something similar. Brava, Elizabeth!Dorishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06849352112455623315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45869481234692383902011-04-01T18:32:11.383-04:002011-04-01T18:32:11.383-04:00Phew! I now see that I had some company in the DN...Phew! I now see that I had some company in the DNF department. Last night I felt very stooopid after giving up and coming here to find the other half of my brain. DOH!<br />April 1st just doesn&#39;t register with me.chefwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14667786107967085242011-04-01T18:28:47.281-04:002011-04-01T18:28:47.281-04:00Of course I remembered it&#39;s April Fools day. W...Of course I remembered it&#39;s April Fools day. Why else would a snowstorm pull down my phone (computer) line? Despite lots of distraction-free quality time to spend with the puzzle, it outsmarted me. By a lot. <br /><br />I believe I recently referred to a grid with seven blanks/errors as a &quot;disaster&quot;. I hereby repent. **This** is a disaster. For me, anyway.<br /><br />On the upside, the phone company came and restrung the wire.<br /><br />See you tomorrow.Lindsaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84461342755775518302011-04-01T18:00:07.215-04:002011-04-01T18:00:07.215-04:00Great puzzle. Hmm, love overseas ROMA? Wait, that...Great puzzle. Hmm, love overseas ROMA? Wait, that&#39;s the capital on italy. Som bread ATIP. Oh wait, upside down!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10036472327254369712011-04-01T17:58:54.081-04:002011-04-01T17:58:54.081-04:00Would someone please remind me a year from now to ...Would someone please remind me a year from now to look for a trick? Man, do I feel dense! Flew through the left side and then .. just .. stopped. NORTHBOUND... , LSU, LEONAS, etc. were all there but I never inverted them. Came here and peeked at RESCUE and AVERSE before a very tardy lightbulb blinked on. Hrumph!Chip Hiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.com